I thought the purpose of having a foot switch/dead-man switch was for when it was critical to have the "tool" be turned off or both your hands where unavailable, or just plain safety. But in the case of say the sander for example, all you have to do is lift the work off the belt, then you can turn it off normally. Just seems to me that the foot switch is a great tool, but doesn't need to be used for everything. Just my 2cents.
Not necessarily "critical" but convenience as well. In order to turn the sander off while clamped in the vise would require removing it from the vise while still running in order to get to the switch, not exactly a safe maneuver. Alternatively it would have to be unplugged to turn it off.
As for having everything controlled by the foot switch has a couple of things against it. One is the wattage limits of the switch and another in my opinion is practicality. Having the lights go off too could be rather inconvenient just imagine stumbling around in the dark in a place where sharp tools could be bumped into.
I re-read and noticed it was the work light mentioned, probably OK but possibly over kill, the vacuum and saw makes sense, but you would have to be sure not to overload the switch.
It is still fun to think of ways you can make your work easier and safer by having your two hands free to manipulate tools or materials. The ten bucks I spent for my Harbour Freight switch were well spent. Every time I would have to turn my saw off required taking my hand off the wood and fumbling under the table on the left side to locate and turn it off which to me is less than satisfactory. I would NOT be without it!
Gabby
